USA

Trump’s behavior raises questions of competency

Donald Trump potentially has millions of lives in his hands as the threat of a devastating war with North Korea swiftly escalates.

January 20, 2017

Yet the President of the United States is raising new questions about his temperament, his judgment and his understanding of the resonance of his global voice and the gravity of his role with a wild sequence of insults, inflammatory tweets and bizarre comments.

On Wednesday Trump caused outrage and sparked fears of violent reprisals against Americans and US interests overseas by retweeting graphic anti-Muslim videos by an extreme far right British hate group. Earlier this week he used a racial slur in front of Native American war heroes. He’s attacked global press freedom, after cozying up to autocrats on his recent Asia tour.

August 18 2017

And now there are reports that the President has revived conspiracy theories about former President Barack Obama’s birthplace and is suggesting an “Access Hollywood” video on which he was heard boasting sexually assaulting women, and for which he apologized last year, had been doctored.

In normal times, it would be a concern that the President is conducting himself in a manner so at odds with the decorum and propriety associated for over two centuries with the office he holds.

September 20, 2017

But the sudden escalation of the North Korean crisis, following the Stalinist state’s launch of its most potent ever missile on Tuesday, takes the world across a dangerous threshold.

If diplomacy is unable to defuse the North Korea crisis, or slow its march to the moment when Kim Jong Un can credibly claim to be able to target all of the United States with a nuclear payload, Trump will face one of the most intricate dilemmas of any modern President. Will he live with the threat posed by a mercurial, wildly unpredictable adversary? Or, will he launch what could turn out to be a hugely bloody and destructive war to remove Kim’s nuclear threat?

November 3, 2017

There will be a premium on Trump’s judgment, his capacity to absorb the most serious detail and to make choices that could put many, many lives at risk, and draw the United States into escalating situations in Northeast Asia. Trump would be required to switch from the swaggering, untethered political persona he has been reluctant to drop as President into the role of sober statesman, unifying the nation and US allies — a switch he has rarely achieved so far in his 10 months in power.

On Wednesday, in St. Charles, Missouri, Trump stuck to his preferred name calling, again blasting Kim as “Little Rocket Man” and branding him a “sick puppy” after his White House earlier promised severe new sanctions against Pyongyang. But he didn’t elaborate on his vows to “handle” the situation. (Continued: CNN)

Who’s next? High anxiety in Hollywood amid sexual harassment allegations in the industry

The curtain has been pulled back, and, oh, is it messy.

November 9, 2017

Hollywood has always revelled in scandal. The rumour. The whisper. The unfortunate photograph. The apology and return to grace. But the recent sex abuse stories have turned into a parade of tawdry violations and twisted passions, the stuff of movies acted out in real lives against the unglamorous air of disgrace, endless transgressions that even Ray Donovan, Showtime’s half-shaven mercurial fixer, couldn’t clean up with all his hush money and muscle.

The rape and sexual abuse allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, James Toback and others have shattered the awards-season aplomb in a town that imagines itself bold and freewheeling but prefers the tempered and scripted. The entertainment industry has slipped into a multi-polar catharsis of emboldened women, nervous men, threatening lawyers, broken deals, spoiled careers and the uncertainty that comes when cracks run like lightning through facades.

May 25, 2011

“I think the industry is forever changed,” said Marcel Pariseau, a publicist whose clients include Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Munn, one of six women who accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in the Los Angeles Times last week. “Every morning we wake up and we don’t know what’s going to be next. You’re almost afraid to get on your gadget to see what the new story is.”

“No one is going to be going to a producer or director’s hotel suite anymore,” he added. “All meetings will be done with somebody else in the room for protection for both sides. It’s a defining moment. It’s vigilance.”

November 19, 2014

Instagram accounts are being scrubbed, Facebook pages edited, publicists consulted and memories jogged about what might have happened where and with whom on that blurry night years ago. The cocktail circuit is jittery; the Oscar buzz feels a bit listless. Talent agencies are dropping clients and scouring their own houses. Studios are pruning relationships, firing executives hours after an allegation is made public. (Source: Toronto Star)

High anxiety in Hollywood amid sexual harassment allegations in the industry

February 25, 2017

The curtain has been pulled back, and, oh, is it messy.

Hollywood has always revelled in scandal. The rumour. The whisper. The unfortunate photograph. The apology and return to grace. But the recent sex abuse stories have turned into a parade of tawdry violations and twisted passions, the stuff of movies acted out in real lives against the unglamorous air of disgrace, endless transgressions that even Ray Donovan, Showtime’s half-shaven mercurial fixer, couldn’t clean up with all his hush money and muscle.

March 1, 2016

The rape and sexual abuse allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, James Toback and others have shattered the awards-season aplomb in a town that imagines itself bold and freewheeling but prefers the tempered and scripted. The entertainment industry has slipped into a multi-polar catharsis of emboldened women, nervous men, threatening lawyers, broken deals, spoiled careers and the uncertainty that comes when cracks run like lightning through facades.

March 5, 2014

“I think the industry is forever changed,” said Marcel Pariseau, a publicist whose clients include Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Munn, one of six women who accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in the Los Angeles Times last week. “Every morning we wake up and we don’t know what’s going to be next. You’re almost afraid to get on your gadget to see what the new story is.”

“No one is going to be going to a producer or director’s hotel suite anymore,” he added. “All meetings will be done with somebody else in the room for protection for both sides. It’s a defining moment. It’s vigilance.” (Source: Toronto Star)

World sees Trump as a weakened president

sketch

If you think it’s only Americans who are watching the news of a criminal indictment and a guilty plea of Trump campaign officials in the Russia probe, think again. Not only is the entire world following the dramatic developments, but world leaders, in particular, are keeping a close eye on a case that weakens President Donald Trump domestically — and has the potential to bring an early end to his presidency.

March 7, 2017

There’s never a good time for a president to see former aides indicted, but Monday’s events — the indictment and arrest of two campaign officials, including the former Trump presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and a guilty plea by foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who admitted to communicating with people he believed to be linked to the Kremlin to get “dirt” on Hillary Clinton and arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump — came just a few days before Trump is scheduled to leave on a major trip to Asia. The timing could hardly be worse.

December 20, 2016

The stunning events made front page news from Chile to the Czech Republic. And there is no question that China’s President Xi Jinping, now more powerful than ever, is being closely briefed on the case. So is North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, as well as Iran’s supreme leader and others.

How will this investigation, which experts agree is only in its early stages, affect Trump’s ability to conduct business on behalf of the United States and the American people? It erodes his standing and his perceived power — and hence America’s, and it makes him less able to persuade others to align with Washington. In addition, it has the potential to cast doubts on his motives as he tackles international crises.

December 17, 2016

When global figures see an embattled President, they will see a wounded President. Trump has deliberately tried to make himself unpredictable, even frightening, to America’s adversaries. That fear element will now be magnified. Global (and domestic) audiences will wonder how his decision-making may be affected by his political troubles. (Continued: CNN)

‘Dear Jeff…’: Trudeau sends personal pitch to Amazon CEO

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making a personal pitch to Amazon to open its second headquarters north of the border, marketing Canada’s cities as “progressive, confident and natural homes” for the company.

January 21, 2016

The deadline to submit bids to Amazon ended Wednesday at midnight, and Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary are all expected to be in on the scramble, among many others.

In a two-page letter dated Oct. 13 that starts “Dear Jeff,” Trudeau gives Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos the full sales pitch on Canada — though diligently avoids tipping his hand toward one city or another.

The letter puts a heavy emphasis on Canada as an open, tolerant and multicultural society, before going on to promote the business climate and educated workforce.

December 1, 2016

“As the first country in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism, we have shown time and time again that a country can be stronger not in spite of its differences, but because of them,” it says.

“Diversity is a fact, but inclusion is a choice. Canada has made its decision and our cities have become windows to the world.”

The letter specifically mentions Canada’s efforts to attract skilled immigrants — a noted contrast to the immigration restrictions U.S. President Donald Trump has put in place that have prompted protests from American tech leaders. (Source: National Post)